As an Apple devotee, I feel like a bit of a traitor writing a positive review of an HP product, but WOW this thing is great! I bought it as a second monitor to my MacBook. Apple MacBook MA701LL/A 13.3" Notebook PC (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) BlackThe color is brilliant, the contrast is impressive, the text pops and it's just plain beautiful to look at, even if you are working. I literally find myself working on things because I don't want to take my eyes off it.
While I love the look of Apple's cinema monitors, the price point is just so high. The HP w2207 represents a far more reasonable price point. Also, if you're a writer like me, HP makes a clip system for this series of monitors, so you can have a document holder off to the side without having to glue something to side of your monitor untiil the end of time.
If you're an art director, graphic designer, or similar artists thinking, "Ah-ha, this guy's a copywriter. What does he know about monitors?" Well I've been in advertising since 1996 and I've seen all kinds of monitors and this is one of the most impressive I've ever seen at any price.
Also, I took sometime to compare this model to others available for sale from a variety of manufacturers and no one matches the image quality in my opinion. This might seem strange for HP to come out on top in comparison to other companies that specialize in monitors, but the truth is people largely, buy their computers based on the quality and look of the monitor. Apple realized this early on and apparently someone told HP too. I wonder how many HP computer bundles are going to be sold based on the performance of this beauty?
Sure, it takes a little adjustment both on the monitor itself and on the display portion of the system preferences, but it's easy enough.
Plus, the built in speakers are much better than you'd expect from a monitor and the built in 2 USB hub is a nice little touch. More would have been better, but an extra usb port is always nice.
All of this said, there are some flaws with this monitor.
1. The rotating screen landscape-or-portrait function is great, but it doesn't work with the MacBook in Mac mode. What I'm talking about is the ability to physically turn the monitor and have the display go into a portrait arrangement. It's probably too much to ask for from a monitor made by a PC manufacturer, but it would have been nice if the software bundle would have included something for us, Mac people. It still works with the MacBook just fine in landscape mode, but it would have been nice to have this particular bell and whistle.
2. The monitor does have a DVI connection as well as an analog VGA connection, but it only comes with an analog VGA wire. Don't settle for VGA, when there's DVI to be had! Order a DVI wire with your order like this one.Cables To Go 2m DVI-D M/M Dual Link Digital Video Cable The response time is appreciably faster than with VGA. It's slight, but it's there.
3. Hopefully, this won't be an issue, but its warranty is for only one year, while others come with a three year warranty. This is a little disconcerting, but I'd rather have one year of looking at this screen than 3 years of looking at washed out or drab monitor.
4. The screen does pick up reflections more readily than other flat panels.
And even with these shortcomings, I've still got to give it 5 stars. It's just that beautiful!
UPDATE: Although mine did not, this monitor now does come with a DVI cable. So you won't need to buy one separately.
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